Tiny green pieces of cloth flutter atop a group of graves just near the old town of Kabul. Large mud homes with well crafted wooden windows still show what the small valley city of Kabul once was. As we walk into the alleys to immerse ourselves into the rhythm of the city, we see an almost endless street. Women in their blue veils seem to be floating through the street as the westerly winds catch their beautiful fabric.

We stop at the street corner of a very popular tailor. He isn’t just a famous tailor; he has also played the villain in several Afghan movies. We begin chatting with him in broken Farsi and then later, through a translator, about the upcoming elections. Seeing us at the store, a woman decides to stand back, away from the store. We almost move away, but another woman walks up and begins talking to the shopkeeper and then to us. We ask her about the upcoming elections. She is unsure who to vote for. In any case, she says, it is not the Afghans who will decide but “the Americans”.

I ask her why. She says, “In the last election people voted. But ballot boxes went missing for many hours and then the votes from Afghans in Pakistan were all forged.” And it isn’t just her: such rumours have become common. And the spread of disillusionment reflects poorly on the quality of democracy available to Afghans, and that was promised to them by the world community. Of course, the feeling of being set up extends all the way to the top.

... contd.